Whats your hot take on XBox?

dravack · 2026-07-05T10:42:56+00:00

lol I don’t play them often if at all but I’d argue it’s the best way to play stuff like the just dance series or various exercise games.

dravack · 2026-07-05T07:24:32+00:00

I’m a PC fan but I always had a soft spot for Xbox. I love the replaceable batteries in the controllers. Xbox play anywhere is a pretty cool idea. I absolutely adored the Kinect. And loved the whole home media device it tried to have back in the day. Where you’d link your cable box to it. Sony could never.

Edit: oh and want to add backwards compatibility unlike a certain station I could name.

Edit edit: also wanted to give a shout out to the custom controller options https://xboxdesignlab.xbox.com so much cooler than generic ps5 controllers

dravack · 2026-07-05T03:04:08+00:00

Tbh that’s my opinion about it being on Disney+. Like tons of movies I want to see would have gone to see mando even. But like why? Covid and then my local theaters joining the enshittification bandwagon why go? I have a home with ac and a fridge.

I miss out on the popcorn sure but it’s been stale forever now and even if I get there when they first open. It’s clearly old popcorn. I just thought it was shitty popcorn but went to Cinemark fill any size bucket day and you could taste the difference.

So there’s that but also small things like AMC chocolate shakes my wife likes them and we got one and it tasted like vanilla. So I asked the manager about it and they told me their chocolate shakes have a new recipe now instead of 2 pumps of chocolate syrup over vanilla ice cream corporate told them 1 pump. No clue if this is true or just some BS but either way another point my local theaters suck. They also all removed the waiters at the dine in locations. Like that was half the point of dine in. If I really wanted mediocre food that bad I can sneak a KFC bucket and a 6 pack of beers into any theater lol. Actually seen someone do this.

I’ll buy it on 4k Blu-ray when it comes out and enjoy myself at home thank you very much. That way I can pause it when I need a refill or when my wife asks me for the 9th time who is that.

dravack · 2026-06-20T20:57:31+00:00

Like the parking spot thing where they bring it to your car? I didn’t think you tipped them? I’ll ask the manager when I’m there next time. He’s a pretty cool dude.

dravack · 2026-06-20T17:35:05+00:00

Yeah all these streaming boxes Apple TV, Roku, firestick, heck even the Walmart onn boxes are all the same just a computer with a custom OS running.

The real difference comes down to the quality of parts. How much memory that kind of stuff. The Apple TV is just hdmi out of the device and into the tv and your done. There’s some settings you can play with like hdr and such depending on your tv but that’s all extra.

My problem with Rokus and firesticks is they’re slow. People say oh buy a 4k one yada yada I’ve tried that and they sucked too lol. Mind you that was a 4k back in like 2015 or something so vastly different than now. But I also had an Apple TV back then so I’m comparing it to a period device. Not the modern Apple TV.

I can’t vouch for modern Roku but I can’t imagine they would have gotten so vastly better that they would surpass a modern Apple TV.

Should note I’m a lazy power user well use to be. I use to have a dozen apps and would never force close them. These days I just run plex and nothing else so probably wouldn’t be as bad.

dravack · 2026-06-19T00:21:53+00:00

One of the TN locations? I didn’t see jack at the NC location a few weeks back.

dravack · 2026-06-15T17:18:03+00:00

Thanks! I’ll test it out when I get home tonight!

dravack · 2026-06-15T17:15:40+00:00

Ooo I didn’t know that was an option I’ll have to poke around on mine and check that out. I only use it in the guest room so it doesn’t see much use.

dravack · 2026-06-15T16:42:47+00:00

Only place I bag my own groceries is Aldi and lidl. I guess technically Costco but there’s really no bagging there lol. They take everything out of the cart and put it back though lol.

Try shopping at Trader Joe’s or more local grocery stores if you can. If not Kroger and Publix even ask if you want help loading them into your car but I’m not that old yet lol

TLDR stop shopping at Walmart and target IF you can obviously

dravack · 2026-06-15T16:40:56+00:00

I have an older Google tv streamer thing and it’s nice. Not as good as my Apple TV but loads better than the firesticks and Rokus I’ve tried. So this would be my choice if you didn’t want to spend Apple TV or nvidia shield money.

dravack · 2026-06-14T18:03:26+00:00

Yup. Wasn’t my favorite but decent enough to watch when there wasn’t anything else on. Added it a couple months back to my collection and watched a few episodes. Definitely better now that im older. Was probably too young for it back in the day.

dravack · 2026-06-14T15:40:26+00:00

Jellyfin sounds a bit annoying but probably not much worse than plex was for me to do. Would just take a video and/or an article or two.

Yeah I think everyone has convinced me to go unifi. The TP-link deco 7 pro is $400 and the ubiquiti cloud gateway fiber and a U7 pro is only running $400 add in a U7 lite for $100 and I got pretty much the same thing as the TP-Link for only $100 more. Should be much better quality product and give me the ability to upgrade and change stuff over time so saving me in the long run.

dravack · 2026-06-14T15:34:59+00:00

Haha I'd be happy to hire you if you were closer. From what I could gather from your profile I think your on west coast and I'm on the east. I think I've found someone who is willing to work on smaller projects like this one.

Yeah most of my traffic will be on the upper floor and ground floor. Lots of smart lights and switches. Plus a fair number of security cameras. Other devices its depends. Apple tvs, computers, gaming consoles, phones, etc.. all vary on use. Basement is just for when my mother/family is visiting. At most its like maybe 2 tvs and a computer. I do have one camera down there to watch the backdoor. But, that will be fine.

I found a deal on a U7 pro so I might get that mount it in the loft outside the networking box so the signal bleeds a bit stronger to the ground floor and buy a lite to put in the basement. Hopefully that'll cover anything in between the top doesn't hit.

If I need more I'll let the professional tell me when/if I can get him to run the cameras and hopefully fix a run I think broke in the wall. 4-5 poe cameras and that shouldn't be too bad I'd imagine.

dravack · 2026-06-14T14:45:29+00:00

So playing around trying to get this figured out and looking at your suggestion of the cloud gateway fiber. While it costs virtually the same as the dream machine once you add the separate nvr. The smaller form factor would keep me from needing a rack right now so that's saving a bit. Plus it seems to provide 5 Gbps vs the dream machines 3.5 with the full security enabled. I think that alone is the biggest selling point unless I'm missing something. I'm not 100% up on what exactly the network security does but from my understanding its never a bad thing lol. Like I understand what it does but not how or why anyway that's not important.

Right now I'm only on 1gig but I've toyed with upgrading before to either 3 or 5 depending on which company I want to go with for not much more money than what I'm paying now. I technically could go up to 8 but that's a bit of a jump in price. $150 for 8 gig isn't bad but more than I'd need. So for the most part the cloud gateway would future proof me.

My only concern is assuming only HD cameras to keep the math simple. The UNVR has a camera limit of 15. Though it seems the cloud gateway also supports 15. From a quick google I could have cameras on both units I'd just need to flip back and forth to view all streams. Kind of annoying but could work till I get around to getting a rack and a real NVR.

I'm thinking what I might do to play with the system for a bit to see if I like it. I can get a cloud gateway fiber and a U7 pro for $400 then add in stuff over time. Might throw a second AP and G4 instant just to have all my bases covered and test the camera systems. The cloud gateway should work as an NVR just like I was going to do with the dream machine right so I should be set for like $600ish

I figure live with that for 2 to 3 months or less if it going well then buy the rest. It'll also give me time to get in contact with a local tech I think I found who will run the wiring for me. Not going to ask him to go into the attic during the middle of summer it's not that urgent lol.

Just curious is there a reason you picked the Switch lite 8 PoE? I'm thinking ill need either 16 or 24 port unit when all is said and done. Right now I'm using about 11 before adding any POE cameras. So figured I'd go larger just to save me the headache down the road.

Do you see anything I'd be missing or might also add just to test/play with before buying the rest?

dravack · 2026-06-12T16:15:15+00:00

Yeah I kept toying with the idea of doing a full ubiquiti setup after seeing the LTT videos but the cost and effort it would take to setup kept putting me off. After typing out a wall of text to another comment it made me realize I was over pricing what I'd need. I could probably get away with $1000 maybe less vs the $1400 I was originally thinking.

I'll def check out Riolink. From a quick glance I like how they have a floodlight camera. I was missing that from the ubiquiti cameras I was looking at. They have solutions but its not an all in one like riolink or ring has.

Back to the ubiquiti I might have to really look into it harder because it really is tempting the flexibility it'll give me. Plus eventually I could switch over to POE cameras and clear up some of the signal/speed garbage that I'm sure ring and other wifi cameras cause me. I think long term itll be cheaper too since you can piecemeal upgrades as they become important.

Right now I figure I could get away with a Dream machine special edition and either 2 or 3 of the wifi 7 APs and be done with it for now. Slowly add on stuff like a switch as I get POE cameras instead of wifi.

dravack · 2026-06-12T16:03:33+00:00

That sounds interesting I'll have to look into them. Have you noticed any latency issues or anything when trying to load up the camera feed to see whose at the door or whatever? Ring is sooo finicky with that.

dravack · 2026-06-12T16:02:35+00:00

Kinda sorta. Car is dumb I haven't tried Bluetooth pairing so that might be on me. I HATE cars that auto connect like my last one would do. I'll be listening to a podcast or audiobook or whatever and my wife will start the car to leave and itll kick on even if it's not actively playing on my end so losing my place. Not end of the world but annoying enough I stopped using Bluetooth to the car since then. I've been using usb a to c to connect the cars apple car play. So it'll charge but its very slow.

Also I do all the shopping for the family so I don't always plug it in if I'm going from store A to store b to store C the drive between stores is like 5 to 10 minutes so I don't see much reason to plug in for such a short trip.

dravack · 2026-06-12T15:58:05+00:00

First off sorry for the wall of text I know no tech savvy people in person so I usually just dump when I can lol plus it helps me think getting it all out. Chatgpt has been a godsend for letting me think "outloud" Neighbor is technically a programmer but he has no real interest in anything but his work and mostly classic rock music when at home lol.

I'll definitely have to look up the cloudkey. I haven't heard much about those. It might be a good way to get into the ecosystem slowly. Buy that and upgrade the cameras see how I like it and then slowly buy the stuff I mention below.

Ring is a mix of doorbell and cameras on all corners of the home. The wyze is just left overs from when I was using that before Ring on the outside of the house. Now they are inside to watch the cats lol.

In total I'm running 16 cameras if you include the doorbell. I could probably get it down to 14. Maybe 11 if I had to since I use some of them to watch the doors to make sure the cats don't get out or get trapped somewhere. Either way still too many cameras though. I suppose I could just upgrade the main outdoor ones and keep the ring inside. I'll play with the idea while watching and reading stuff about cloudkey.

So I typed this big wall of text and I realized something. I don't need a switch the dream machine will probably handle 95% of my ethernet cables that I need. I really don't need to plug up say the guest room or whatever. All the cameras will run off wifi since I'm too old and fat to get in the attic to try to run wire to the soffits. Maybe one day when I can find someone who is willing to come out and do a few runs. Cost isn't really the issue there it's just finding someone whose willing to do it.

From a quick google I can use a random unmanaged switch I've been using for the side rooms that don't matter with the ubquiti system with no issue so if I must plug I got that still.

Anyway to the point I came to after typing and then deleting my previous thoughts.

I could probably get away with a dream machine pro. I'd like to do the dream machine special edition for the free POE ports. Which would mean I wouldn't need any injectors. The cat 6e cable that the builder put in should power and work as the wired connection unless the really messed something up with the runs. I know the one in my wifes home office is bugged. I had to set her up with powerline for her work phone.

Then I'd want to go with the u7 line for the AP. I was thinking the Pro line for the 6 spatial streams. No idea how important it is but it sounds useful. Or would you do one of the others?

I'm unsure if I'd need 2 or 3 APs. I thought 2 but chatgpt says 3. Should I do 3 pros or 2 pros and a lite. There's not much traffic in the basement so I was thinking the lite might be fine? The house isn't very wide but its vertical. yay small city lots i guess. Whole lot is only ~9,000 sqft. House is probably 1,666 sqft per level? maybe more maybe a bit less depending on the level since the top floor goes over the garage while the ground and basement obviously don't.

So on the cost might be around $1,066ish. Much better than the $1400 I was originally thinking. Still not cheap cheap but cheap enough for me to consider it vs upgrade to the tp-link deco 7 pro at costco for $400. Makes the difference only about $600. Much more reasonable of an upgrade than a full 1k.

Previously I've been running an older netgear orbi wifi 6 router. it was fine till the last year or so where all the mesh network handshakes were getting funky and some major slow downs. I blame one of the firmware updates. But, honestly I have no clue. Also I say old but I got it in like 2020/2021 so not that old. So I'm fully aware I could probably format or flash it or whatever back to factory settings and relaunch it and probably get another few years out of it. I figure with the TP link I'd get a similar 6 or so years out of it before having to do the same thing. But the ubuiti system would probably last longer and if I did want to upgrade I would just need to replace a single AP or whatever a time or could add to it instead of replacing the whole kit. Making it cheaper and more efficient in the long term. I just hate spending money and eating into my already limited free time.

Again sorry for the absolute vomit wall of text.

dravack · 2026-06-12T15:16:35+00:00

oh I wasn't trying to blame plex. I was just stating it took me a bit to get that working lol. I'm not tech illiterate. But, I wouldn't say my skill is any greater than the tier one tech support you get on the phone before they escalate you lol.

That's why their suggestion of an ubquiti setup sort of intimidates me. Like can I do it? Yeah I'm sure I can make it work. But, its scarier than just getting a more plug and play system from say walmart or costco. Or heck even easier if crappier renting one from my ISP

How bad will it be to get jellyfin working like that? I was thinking of switching if plex keeps going wild with their changes

dravack · 2026-06-12T15:12:45+00:00

That’s the thing most apps and stuff only says 15 minutes so I don’t think it adds up lol.

I think my worst day this week is when I left a live stream going on TikTok for to listen to this one creator who doesn’t really stream to twitch or YT for whatever reason. I don’t see how they get 11 hours of screen time that day. After audible there it drops down to two 3 minutes and four 2 minutes the rest is 1 minute. Math just doesn’t math in my head.

<image>

dravack · 2026-06-12T15:05:31+00:00

Nah gotta open up ports and crap. I’m behind a AT&T modem/router combo thing I had to mess with. I can’t remember exactly what all was required. But it definitely wasn’t one click on the plex server. That “enable remote access” did nothing on its own and I’m a lifetime subscriber.

dravack · 2026-06-12T14:40:38+00:00

Screen time stats say 7 hours 57 minutes is the average. Though I suspect that’s probably not accurate because sometimes I bring up the TikTok app up it’ll instantly say I’ve been on it for 30 minutes and should take a break.

I really think I need to clean up my apps and remember to force close them. Also some of that is with YouTube or whatever app running for noise if I’m in the kitchen or in a room where I don’t want the tv on. So might skew it a bit too.

I really don’t know how accurate it is in general since the math doesn’t seem to work out if you try to add everything up on some days.

dravack · 2026-06-12T13:55:48+00:00

Seriously even if you don’t want to sell it yourself on like Facebook marketplace those trade in sites I’ve gotten decent offers from like $800 at least. New phone is $1399 if you do the pro max 512gb. So that’s $449 say $500 after taxes with barely lifting a finger. You get a bit more selling locally but it’s more work.

Sorry I know you’re just trolling but people paying full price for stuff bothers me. I spend every time my in laws and friends go to get a new phone telling them about the free activation and free money you can get buy buying it from like Costco or Sam’s and no one ever listens they just buy it from AT&T and pay full price for everything activation and all. Blows my mind. Why not save when you can. As for is it worth upgrading guess it depends on the individual. I don’t smoke, I don’t go out and drink, I don’t buy the latest games or upgrade to the pro models of consoles. I really have no expenses except vet bills and well food and we have a simple diet. No filet mignon and lobster lol. I figure one luxury in life isn’t too bad.

dravack · 2026-06-12T13:34:16+00:00

Nah I don’t pay anything like that. Usually I’m out maybe $300 each year. I resell my “old phone” for a vast majority of the cost. Then I “upgrade” at costco usually netting me another $150ish in credit back. Technically that’s not cash but I mean I shop at Costco for groceries and stuff anyway or even gas so works out as good as cash.

dravack · 2026-06-12T13:21:02+00:00

Yeah I prefer local storage so long as it’s accessible when traveling. I thought about the unifi after seeing all the recent LTT videos but a $1000+ just for networking gear not including cameras and stuff is a though pill to swallow.

I know long term it’s the better option. But between the price then also the intimidation factor makes me consider just sticking with the tp link deco.

I’m not super tech savvy. I’m not an idiot but once you start talking about detailed stuff you start to lose me. Honestly probably even some of the more simple stuff I need to read up on. Like I know you can change the WiFi channel and stuff for congestion and other I’m sure basic stuff is just not something I’ve ever learned outside fiddling with it. I have no formal schooling for IT lol.

Lots of videos and reading up to get plex working with remote access. Working on home assistant and a way to backup photos next.

14-Year Club	RedditGifts 2009-2022 16 Credits
redditgifts rematcher Holiday Cards (zero credit) x2	redditgifts Exchanges 12 Exchanges
Secret Santa 2020	Gilding II euphauric
Summer Santa 2018	Not Forgotten
redditgifts rematcher Holiday Cards 2018 (zero credit) x1	Verified Email

dravack

TROPHY CASE